Cosmological distance indicators

We review three distance measurement techniques beyond the local universe: (1) gravitational lens time delays, (2) baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), and (3) HI intensity mapping. We describe the principles and theory behind each method, the ingredients needed for measuring such distances, the current observational results, and future prospects. Time delays from strongly lensed quasars currently provide constraints on $H_0$ with < 4% uncertainty, and with 1% within reach from ongoing surveys and efforts. Recent exciting discoveries of strongly lensed supernovae hold great promise for time-delay cosmography. BAO features have been detected in redshift surveys up to z <~ 0.8 with galaxies and z ~ 2 with Ly-$\alpha$ forest, providing precise distance measurements and $H_0$ with < 2% uncertainty in flat $\Lambda$CDM. Future BAO surveys will probe the distance scale with percent-level precision. HI intensity mapping has great potential to map BAO distances at z ~ 0.8 and beyond with precisions of a few percent. The next years ahead will be exciting as various cosmological probes reach 1% uncertainty in determining $H_0$, to assess the current tension in $H_0$ measurements that could indicate new physics.Comment: Review article accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews (Springer), 45 pages, 10 figures. Chapter of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Ag

A novel Alzheimer disease locus located near the gene encoding tau protein

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordAPOE ε4, the most significant genetic risk factor for Alzheimer disease (AD), may mask effects of other loci. We re-analyzed genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project (IGAP) Consortium in APOE ε4+ (10 352 cases and 9207 controls) and APOE ε4- (7184 cases and 26 968 controls) subgroups as well as in the total sample testing for interaction between a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and APOE ε4 status. Suggestive associations (P<1 × 10-4) in stage 1 were evaluated in an independent sample (stage 2) containing 4203 subjects (APOE ε4+: 1250 cases and 536 controls; APOE ε4-: 718 cases and 1699 controls). Among APOE ε4- subjects, novel genome-wide significant (GWS) association was observed with 17 SNPs (all between KANSL1 and LRRC37A on chromosome 17 near MAPT) in a meta-analysis of the stage 1 and stage 2 data sets (best SNP, rs2732703, P=5·8 × 10-9). Conditional analysis revealed that rs2732703 accounted for association signals in the entire 100-kilobase region that includes MAPT. Except for previously identified AD loci showing stronger association in APOE ε4+ subjects (CR1 and CLU) or APOE ε4- subjects (MS4A6A/MS4A4A/MS4A6E), no other SNPs were significantly associated with AD in a specific APOE genotype subgroup. In addition, the finding in the stage 1 sample that AD risk is significantly influenced by the interaction of APOE with rs1595014 in TMEM106B (P=1·6 × 10-7) is noteworthy, because TMEM106B variants have previously been associated with risk of frontotemporal dementia. Expression quantitative trait locus analysis revealed that rs113986870, one of the GWS SNPs near rs2732703, is significantly associated with four KANSL1 probes that target transcription of the first translated exon and an untranslated exon in hippocampus (P≤1.3 × 10-8), frontal cortex (P≤1.3 × 10-9) and temporal cortex (P≤1.2 × 10-11). Rs113986870 is also strongly associated with a MAPT probe that targets transcription of alternatively spliced exon 3 in frontal cortex (P=9.2 × 10-6) and temporal cortex (P=2.6 × 10-6). Our APOE-stratified GWAS is the first to show GWS association for AD with SNPs in the chromosome 17q21.31 region. Replication of this finding in independent samples is needed to verify that SNPs in this region have significantly stronger effects on AD risk in persons lacking APOE ε4 compared with persons carrying this allele, and if this is found to hold, further examination of this region and studies aimed at deciphering the mechanism(s) are warranted

Electrorecovery of actinides at room temperature

There are a large number of purification and processing operations involving actinide species that rely on high-temperature molten salts as the solvent medium. One such application is the electrorefining of impure actinide metals to provide high purity material for subsequent applications. There are some drawbacks to the electrodeposition of actinides in molten salts including relatively low yields, lack of accurate potential control, maintaining efficiency in a highly corrosive environment, and failed runs. With these issues in mind we have been investigating the electrodeposition of actinide metals, mainly uranium, from room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and relatively high-boiling organic solvents. The RTILs we have focused on are comprised of 1,3-dialkylimidazolium or quaternary ammonium cations and mainly the {sup -}N(SO{sub 2}CF{sub 3}){sub 2} anion [bis(trif1uoromethylsulfonyl)imide {equivalent_to} {sup -}NTf{sub 2}]. These materials represent a class of solvents that possess great potential for use in applications employing electrochemical procedures. In order to ascertain the feasibility of using RTILs for bulk electrodeposition of actinide metals our research team has been exploring the electron transfer behavior of simple coordination complexes of uranium dissolved in the RTIL solutions. More recently we have begun some fundamental electrochemical studies on the behavior of uranium and plutonium complexes in the organic solvents N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Our most recent results concerning electrodeposition will be presented in this account. The electrochemical behavior of U(IV) and U(III) species in RTILs and the relatively low vapor pressure solvents NMP and DMSO is described. These studies have been ongoing in our laboratory to uncover conditions that will lead to the successful bulk electrodeposition of actinide metals at a working electrode surface at room temperature or slightly elevated temperatures. The RTILs we have focused on thus far are based on 1,3-dialkylimidazolium or quaternary ammonium cations and {sup -}N(SO{sub 2}CF{sub 3}){sub 2} anions. Our results from XPS studies of e1ectrooxidized uranium metal surfaces indicate that uranium metal reacts with the anion from the RTIL, most likely through an initial f1uoride abstraction, forming decomposition products that inhibit the bulk electrodeposition of uranium metal. Similar results were found when the organic solvents were used with TBA[B(C{sub 6}F{sub 5}){sub 4}] as the supporting electrolyte, although the voltammetric data of uranium ions in these solutions is more encouraging in relation to electrodeposition of uranium metal. Preliminary results on the voltammetric behavior and bulk electrodeposition of plutonium species are also presented